{"id":7944,"date":"2016-12-14T15:58:45","date_gmt":"2016-12-14T15:58:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/?p=7944"},"modified":"2025-07-29T06:44:34","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T10:44:34","slug":"how-athletes-cope-with-internal-and-external-distractions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/how-athletes-cope-with-internal-and-external-distractions\/","title":{"rendered":"How Athletes Cope With Internal And External Distractions &#8211; Video"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Stay_Focused_During_Competition\"><\/span>How to Stay Focused During Competition<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 ez-toc-wrap-center counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-transparent ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Article Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #0769bf;color:#0769bf\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #0769bf;color:#0769bf\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/how-athletes-cope-with-internal-and-external-distractions\/#How_to_Stay_Focused_During_Competition\" >How to Stay Focused During Competition<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/how-athletes-cope-with-internal-and-external-distractions\/#Related_Sports_Psychology_Articles\" >Related Sports Psychology Articles<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/how-athletes-cope-with-internal-and-external-distractions\/#The_Focused_Athlete\" >The Focused Athlete<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p>In \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=kfOYC9U8Nkg\">Sports Psychology Sessions with Doc<\/a>,\u201d Dr. Patrick Cohn answers a question from Judith who wants to know how she can overcome external distractions during competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Judith said:<\/strong><em>&#8220;I&#8217;m distracted during league play&#8230; Loud talking, people moving in my line of sight, loud music, all those things. I don&#8217;t like it because it distracts me. I know I cant control any of these things, however, it takes me out of my game. It&#8217;s hard to focus on my shot&#8221; <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The question Dr. Patrick Cohn answers this week is:<\/strong> <em>&#8220;How can I focus better with all those distractions going on?&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are two different types of distractions: (1) internal and (2) external. External distractions are easier to brush off. You have to have a plan and focus only on the play or task at hand.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-a66e0198\">\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How To Refocus When Distracted: Mental Skills for Athletes\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/c4sfS2ujf6w?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Video on Coping with Distractions <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"block-979ef383-5bc7-43ee-b8f9-249663ca1a6c\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Related_Sports_Psychology_Articles\"><\/span>Related Sports Psychology Articles<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul id=\"block-05642731-8752-4dbf-9c18-5cc4d276e821\" class=\"wp-block-list has-normal-font-size\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/how-to-refocus-after-making-mistakes\/\"><strong>How to Refocus After Making Mistakes<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/refocus-quickly-when-distracted\/\"><strong>How To Refocus Quickly When Distracted<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/how-to-prevent-mental-mistakes-during-competition\/\"><strong>How to Prevent Mental Mistakes During Competition&nbsp;<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-normal-font-size\" id=\"block-5726d13f-f715-4ca4-8813-2f8a9ebd8bc3\">*Subscribe to&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/sports-psychology-podcast-by-peaksports-com\/id152566009\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Sports Psychology Podcast<\/a>&nbsp;<\/strong>on iTunes<br>*Subscribe to <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0ynyaalKxbnNmsoeL8gF5X?si=8224669de9b3435b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>The Sports Psychology Podcas<\/strong>t<\/a> on Spotify<br>*Subscribe to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@peakperformancesports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>Peak Performance Sports on Youtube<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-normal-font-size\" id=\"block-281f5afb-980b-4c71-9aa0-11d606b5f7c9\"><strong>Download a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/mental-toughness-report-athletes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">free sports psychology report<\/a>&nbsp;to improve your mental game!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-normal-font-size\" id=\"block-94138e75-d591-4645-bb1d-212cf57a8841\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sport-psychology-training-athletes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Learn more about our one-on-one mental game coaching.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Focused_Athlete\"><\/span>The Focused Athlete <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"250\" src=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/focused-athlete-teams-small.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3922\" style=\"width:215px\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s probably no secret that you have many opportunities<strong> to become distracted<\/strong> in sports. Athletes are bombarded with both internal and external distractions everyday in practice and competition. <strong>Focused athletes<\/strong> are able to get the most from their skills because they are more efficient with practice and more concentrated in competition. Athletes who lack focus <strong>let distractions run wild through their mind and don\u2019t know how to adjust or refocus.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Focused Athlete was developed for any level coach, parent, or junior to professional athlete who wants to improve performance and gain a competitive edge. It does not matter if you are a fledgling junior athlete; or a seasoned professional, plagued with distractions; or you just wanting to learn how to improve concentration\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe Focused Athlete\u201d is a complete system to teach you how to focus like a champion and harness the power of a zone focus every time you step on the playing field, court, track, or course in practice and games!<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-769fef19\">\n\n<a class=\"gb-button gb-button-68fab510 gb-button-text\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/the-focused-athlete-cd-program\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GET DETAILS<\/a>\n\n\n\n<a class=\"gb-button gb-button-3043572a gb-button-text\" href=\"https:\/\/shop.peaksports.com\/collections\/the-confident-athlete-series-digital-download\/products\/the-focused-athlete-digital\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BUY NOW<\/a>\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How to Stay Focused During Competition In \u201cSports Psychology Sessions with Doc,\u201d Dr. Patrick Cohn answers a question from Judith who wants to know how she can overcome external distractions during competition. Judith said:&#8220;I&#8217;m distracted during league play&#8230; Loud talking, people moving in my line of sight, loud music, all those things. I don&#8217;t like it because it &#8230; <a title=\"How Athletes Cope With Internal And External Distractions &#8211; Video\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/how-athletes-cope-with-internal-and-external-distractions\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about How Athletes Cope With Internal And External Distractions &#8211; Video\">Sport Psychology Article&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4715,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[142,146],"tags":[312,324,632],"class_list":["post-7944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports-psychology-tips","category-sports-psychology-videos","tag-distractions-in-sports","tag-focus-in-sports","tag-overcoming-distractions-in-sports"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO Pro 4.9.6.1 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Judith asks, &quot;How can I focus better with all those distractions going on?&quot; 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